Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly interested in bringing back former Boston Bruins forward & free agent target

The 2024 summer has the potential to be a game-changer for the Boston Bruins and GM Don Sweeney. He has a ton of cap space with a lot of contracts coming off the books and this is the offseason that has been circled by Bruins fans for some time.

A top-six center should be priority No. 1 for Sweeney this offseason, then an impactful goal-scoring wing and defenseman are other needs that the Black and Gold's GM can look to add to. One name that Sweeney certainly should kick the tires on if he does hit free agency is former Bruin Tyler Bertuzzi. It appears, however, that the team he played for this season might not let that happen.

Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly very interested in re-signing Tyler Bertuzzi

Boston acquired Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline in 2023 and what an additon he turned out to be down the stretch and in the playoffs. He was one of the Bruins' better playoff players in their series against the Florida Panthers, but with a very tight cap last summer, he ended up leaving and signing with the Maple Leafs for $5.5 million.

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported that Bertuzzi and Toronto would like to get a long-term contract done and avoid him hitting free agency.

We’ll see what happens here. He’s been a top player on the last three teams he’s played with. He’s played on the first line with the best players on each of his last three teams. So he would be coveted on the open market.

LeBrun is right, if Bertuzzi hits the open market, he would be coveted by multiple teams and Boston should look to get into the mix, but Toronto seems like they don't want that to happen and lock him before July 1.